Engine



Dec. 29, 1942.

H. E. MoREHusE ENGINE Filed Oct. 28, 1939 2 www Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: f

arem e, j( m ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 29, 1942-. H. E. MoREHousE 2,306,554

ENGINE Filed Oct. 28. 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z E INVENTOR.' y aro Z orezoae, BYlw/mlm ATTORNEYS'.

' ticularly to the lubrication.

Appumion october '2a. 193s, serai N. :01,399

(ci. isi-s) achim.

case runs downwardly` over the valve operating mechanism to lubricate the saine and is returned from the lower part of the engine to the pressure lubricating system.

Still another object is to provide valvegpperating mechanism constructed to collectoil at all' of the joints to insure adequate lubrication.

Other objects and advantagesrofthe invention including novel subcombinations and elements will -be apparent from the following description vof the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of an engine embodying the invention with parts in elevation and parts in section and Figure 2 is a transverse section i through the engine with the right and left sides of the ligure showing sections taken in different planes.

'I'he illustrated engine comprises a lower crank case housing I0 which may be a casting or the like and which is closed by cover l2 bolted or otherwisesecured thereto to form a closed crank case. The housing part ill has periodically spaced therein bulk heads Il providing main bearings i6 for a crank shaft Il. As shown, one

such bulk head is provided between `each of the engine cylinders.

A plurality of cylinders 2l are secured to and project into the lower part ofthe housing Il. Preferably the cylinders are provided with cooling vanes 22 4for facilitating radiation of heat therefrom. Each of the cylinders is closed by a head casting 24 which is also suitably finned and which is provided with intake and exhaust passages communicating with suitable manifolds 26. The

[intake and exhaust -passages are controlled by poppet type valves 2l slidably mounted in the heads 24 and urged onto their seats by suitable lvalve springs 3l.

In the engine illustrated, the valves are oper.

ated by cam shafts 22 extending lengthwise of the engine at the oposite-sides thereof, one of the cam shafts operating the intake valves for the several cylinders and the other operating the 55 of the bulk heads Il and suitably drilled as at exhaust valves. The cam shafts arey provided with a plurality of cams as is understood in the art, each of which engages a cam follower '24 slidably mounted in ,a guide member 2B- I! desired a spring 22 may be provided for holding the cam follower against the cam.

As best seen in Figure 2, the guide member 2G comprises an elongated body secured at one end to the lower part of the housing Il and provided with a bore for slidably supporting the stem of the cam follower 14. vThe guide is formed with a passage 40 on one side of the bore and communicating freely with its opposite ends.

The cam follower 24 engages the upper end of a push rod 42- which is formed with an upwardly facing socket Il receiving a ball shaped member on the lower end of the cam follower. The lips of the socket u extend outwardly slightly for a purpose to appear hereinafter. The lower end of the push rod terminates in a ball shaped mem-4 ber fitting into an upwardly facing socket 4B adjustably carried by one end of a rocker arm' Il. The rocker arm is shownas pivoted intermediate its ends on a ball bearing Il and has a rounded end 52 engaging the lower end of one of the valve stems 2l.

Suitable pistons S4 are slidably mounted inthe several cylinders and are connected by connecting rods 56 through bearings 5I to the crank shaft. spark plugs 6l.

In order to lubricate the engine, a gear pump I2 which may be driven through one of the cam shafts is provided in an end housing il at one end of the eng-ine. The pump receives oil from a' suitable tank or other supply sourcenot shown through a tube Si and forces oil under pressure through an outlet pipe 68 running along one sicle of the engine..y 'I'he outlet pipe 82 .communicates with a series of bores 1| formed in the bulk heads il and extending to the main bearings I8. The'- main bearings are preferably provided with oil grooves connected by tubes l2 to the connecting rod bearings for conducting oil thereto. In this way a constant ilow of oil is maintained through the several bearings along the crankshaft and adequate lubrication thereof is insured.

Oil flowing through the bearings is thrown throughthe crank case in the form of a spray or fog and serves to lubricate the pistons and the cam shaft as well as other moving parts in the crank case. 'I'he cam shaft'is provided with enlarged portions 14 iournaled in the lower portions The cylinder heads. 2l carry the usualshaft.

It will be noted that theibulkdieads I4 divide the lower portion of the crank ca'se into separate cylinder compartments each of which communicates at one end with the passages 48 in the guides 36 on the opposite sides of the engine. Preferably the housing III is provided with webs 'I8 extending along the sides of the cylinders and serving as dams to' prevent all of the oil from being withdrawn from the lower part of the crank case. Oil iiowing over these dams runs along the sides of the engine and flows downwardly through the passages 40.

The push rods 42 are enclosed by tubular housing 80 connected to the lower ends of the guides 36 and secured in turn at their lower ends to integral skirt portions 62 on the heads 24 which form partial housings for the rocker arms and exposed ends of the valve stems.

The skirt portions 82 are closed by a trough or gallery 84 extending along the entire length of the engine and formed with fianged openings to register with and close the skirt portions 82. One such trough or gallery extends along each side of the engine and closes the several skirt portions 82 therealong. In addition the troughs or galleries 84 serve to tie together the lower ends of the cylinders so that a more rigid construction is provided.

Oil flowing through'the guides 36 and tubular housing 80 is received in the chambers formed by the skirt portions 82 and finally flows to the bot tom of the troughs 84. It will be noted from Fig. l that these troughs are formed to slope downwardly toward the center and suitable connections 86 are provided at the center leading to the oil storage tank. Preferably the troughs 84 are provided with cooling vanes 88' to assist in dissipating heat from the oil. It will be noted that the above arrangement provides a closed oil circulating system including substantially all moving parts of the engine and by which oil is constantly circulated over the valve operating mechanism to insure adequate lubrication thereof. Any oil collecting in the housing 64 maybe returned to the system through a pipe 88 connected to one end of one of the troughs 84.

As the oil llows downwardly through the passages 40 and the tubular housing 80, a certain proportion thereof will be caught by the upwardly facing sockets 44 and 46 to insure lubrication of the joints formed by these sockets. In addition the rocker arm 48 is preferably formed with a passage 90 leading from the socket 46 to the bearing 50 to insure adequate lubrication of the bearing. If desired, a further passage 92 may be provided in the rocker arm to conduct oil to the end 52 which contacts the valve stem.

By the above construction, the oil circulated through the engine for lubrication of the crank shaft and associated parts flows over the valve operating mechanism and insures adequate lubrication thereof at all times without special attention on the part of an operator. l

Another and very important advantage is that the constant flow of oil over the push rods and other valve operating parts tends to equalize the temperature of these parts so as to reduce the amount of variation in valveclearance at different operating conditions. s

While the invention has been illustrated in connection with a four cylinder in line engine, it will be understood that it might be applied equally well to engines having diierent numbers of cylinders and to engines of the V or other types.` It is therefore not intended to limit the scope oi' the invention to the exact form shown nor otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An engine comprising a crankcase, a, plurality of aligned cylinders extending downwardly from the crankcase,rvalves at the lower ends of the cylinders, a camshaft in the crankcase, jointed -push rods engaging the camshaft and valves for operating the valves, housing means for said valves, housings for the push rod's communicating with the crankcase and with said housing means to conduct lubricating oil from the crankcase to the housing means, said push rod having upwardly facing cup parts adjacent the joints to I catch lubricating. oil for lubricating the joints,

and means to withdraw lubricating oil from the housing means and return it'to the crankcase.

2. An engine comprising a. crankcase, a plurality of aligned cylinders extending downwardly from the crankcase, valves at the lower ends of the cylinders, a camshaft in'the crankcase, rocker arms pivoted adjacent the lower end of the cylinders for operating the valves, housing means for said rocker arms, jointed push-rods engaging the camshaft and rocker arms for operating the valves, housings for the push rods communicating with the crankcase and said housing means to conduct oil from the crankcase to the housing means, means in the rocker arms to collect oil iiowing through said housings and conduct it to the pivotal mounting of the rocker arms and means adjacent the push rod joints to collect oil flowing through the housings to lubricate said joints.

3. An engine comprising a crankcase, a plurality of aligned cylinders extending downwardly from the crankcase, valves at the lower ends of the cylinders, a camshaft in the crankcase, rocker arms pivoted adjacent the lower ends of the cylinders for operating the valves, housing means extending longitudinally of the engine at the lower ends of the cylinders and enclosing said rocker arms and valves, push-rods having closed ends extending downwardly from the camshaft to the rocker arms for operating the rocker arms and the valves, vertically extending housings for the push-rods communicating with the crankcase at their upper ends and with said housing means at their lower ends and each providing a conduit to drain oil from the crankcase to the housing means.

4. An engine comprising a crankcase, a plurality of aligned cylinders secured to and extending downwardly from the crankcase, valves at the lower ends of the cylinders and positioned at each side of the engine. operating mechanism for the valves including parts at the lower ends of the cylinders and at each side thereof, and pushrods having closed ends extending from the crankcase to Said parts, a continuous housing extending longitudinally along each side of the engine at the lower ends of the cylinders and each enclosing the valves and valve operating parts on one side of the engine, housings enclosing the push-'rods and each communicating with the crankcase and with one of said continuous housings and each providing a conduit for oil from the crankcase to one of the continuous housings, and means to moveoil from said continuous housings to the crankcase.

HAROLD E. MOREHOUSE. 

